Top 20 most-asked questions about Amazon RDS for Db2 answered

The new Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) for Db2 offering allows customers to migrate their existing, self-managed Db2 databases to the cloud and accelerate strategic modernization initiatives. In our recent webcast, IBM, AWS, customers and partners came together for an interactive session. In this session:  

IBM and AWS discussed the benefits and features of this new fully managed offering spanning availability, security, backups, migration and more.
AWS ran a live demo to show how to get started in just a few clicks.
A panel of IBM Champions, clients and partners such as Profile Centevo and The Fillmore Group discussed their experiences using Amazon RDS for Db2 and their modernization use cases.

Let’s examine the top 20 questions about Amazon RDS for Db2 that we’ve received from our audience, customers and partners alike: 

General

1. What versions and editions of Db2 are supported on Amazon RDS for Db2?

Answer: Amazon RDS for Db2 supports Db2 LUW v11.5.9 for Db2 Standard Edition and Advanced Edition. Future versions of Db2 will be added to the service as they become available.

2. How does Db2 differentiate from other engines on RDS, and what are its unique features?

Answer: Along with standard RDS features, Amazon RDS for Db2 supports key Db2 features, such as row and column organized tables for mixed and analytic workloads, the Adaptive Workload Optimizer to for better resource management, and rules-based access controls for advanced data protection. Also, it supports existing configurations, such as the use of stored procedures (PL/SQL and Java-based), with the ability to change database parameters and registry variables with DBADM access.

3. How can I find out about new features or planned technical updates for RDS for Db2? Where can I provide feedback?

Answer: To share feedback on the product and learn more about new features or technical updates planned for Amazon RDS for Db2, connect with your IBM or AWS representative to book a meeting with IBM Db2 experts. 

4. Can Amazon RDS for Db2 be used for running data warehousing workloads?

Answer: Yes, Amazon RDS for Db2 can support analytics workloads, but it is not a data warehouse. Amazon RDS for Db2 supports single-node transactional, mixed and analytics workloads. Db2 Warehouse, our cloud-native data warehouse for real-time operational analytics, business intelligence (BI), reporting and machine learning (ML), is also available as a fully managed service on AWS to support customer’s data warehousing needs. 

Scalability

5. What is the maximum scale of an Amazon RDS for Db2 instance? For example, how much CPU, memory and storage are needed?

Answer: Instances can scale up to 128 vCPUs and 4 TB of memory with RDS for Db2. Refer to the Amazon RDS for Db2 pricing page for instances supported.

6. Are there any constraints on the number of databases that can be hosted on an instance?

Answer: Currently, we support one Db2 database per instance. If you require hosting multiple databases per instance, connect with an IBM or AWS representative to discuss your needs and request a proof of concept.

7. Does Amazon RDS for Db2 support 32 KB Page size?

Answer: Yes, Amazon RDS for Db2 supports 32 KB page size.

8. Is autoscaling available for Amazon RDS for Db2?

Answer: You can use automated storage scaling to automatically scale based on your usage. You can also set a threshold limit for automated storage scaling. Compute scaling can be done with a push of a button.

High availability

9. What solutions does Amazon RDS for Db2 provide for auto failovers, such as Db2 HADR?

Answer: Amazon RDS for Db2 uses Multi-AZ for HA between availability zones (AZs). Amazon RDS Multi-AZ deployments provide enhanced availability and durability for database instances with an SLA of up to 99.95%, making them a natural fit for production database workloads. When you provision a Multi-AZ database instance, Amazon RDS synchronously replicates your data to a standby instance in a different availability zone (AZ).

10. How does Multi-AZ failover work?

Answer: If a planned or unplanned outage of your DB instance results from an infrastructure defect, Amazon RDS automatically switches to a standby replica in another AZ if you have turned on Multi-AZ. The time it takes for the failover to complete depends on the database activity and other conditions when the primary DB instance became unavailable. Failover times are typically 60 to 120 seconds.

Backup and restore

11. At what level are snapshot-based backups taken?

Answer: Backups in Amazon RDS for Db2 are taken at the storage level. By default, automated backups of your DB instance are securely stored in Amazon S3 for a user-specified retention period. Also, you can create snapshots, which are user-initiated backups of your instance kept until explicitly deleted. You’re billed only for incremental storage use, and you can restore your DB instance to any specific time during the backup retention period, creating a new DB instance. Restoring your database instance can be done through the AWS Console or Command Line Interface.

12. How are archived logs applied for point-in-time restore?

Answer: We refer to snapshots as storage-level backups. When automated backups are enabled, snapshots are taken every 24 hours, and archive logs are taken every 5 minutes. You can use the archive logs for PITR. Also, you can take manual snapshots as needed. 

13. Will snapshot-based backup solutions support activities like redirected backups, which are common between different environment levels, such as production to test?

Answer: You can restore a snapshot backup to a new Amazon RDS for Db2 instance when migrating between production and testing environments.

Database management, monitoring and tools

14. What monitoring options are available for RDS for Db2?

Answer: Amazon RDS for Db2 provides built-in monitoring and health checks to operate the service. This includes capabilities for alarming or notifying based on monitoring metrics and log collection with publishing capabilities. RDS for Db2 supports integrations with CloudWatch, RDS Enhanced Monitoring and the IBM Data Management Console.

15. Will we be able to monitor and manage the Amazon RDS instances from the IBM Data Management Console?

Answer: Yes, you can use the IBM Data Management Console to monitor databases on RDS for Db2.

16. How do I migrate on-premises AIX/Db2 to Amazon RDS? Can data capture for continuous updates still be performed?

Answer: You can use the Db2 Migration Tool (Db2MT) or the AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS) to migrate from Db2 on AIX to Amazon RDS for Db2. 

17. For data replication, what would be the scalable and optimal tool to use for replicating Db2 on-premises to Amazon RDS for Db2?

Answer: You can use IBM Q® replication to move data between Db2 on-premises and Amazon RDS for Db2. 

Deployment and licensing

18. How are Db2 licenses used with Amazon RDS for Db2?

Answer: You can bring your existing Db2 Standard and Advanced Edition VPC-based licenses to use in Amazon RDS for Db2. Contact your IBM representative if you’d like to discuss how to use your Db2 licenses in Amazon RDS. 

19. With the “bring your own license” option, how is license consumption reported?

Answer: RDS for Db2 requires the use of the AWS License Manager, which reports similarly to the ILMT tool. Contact your IBM or AWS representative if you’d like to discuss this further.

20. What would be the monthly cost of running Amazon RDS for Db2 with primary and secondary instances in two AZs?

Answer: Refer to the Amazon RDS for Db2 pricing page for RDS Multi-AZ pricing.